Gokusen Revisited
by Bodacious Bovine
Summary: What would happen if Shirokin Gakuen had become a coed school the year Yamaguchi arrived? Can the new girls survive 3-D? Rated T for swearing and things to come in future chapters... maybe. on hiatus.
1. Prologue

Gokusen

This story is based off of the manga and the drama, I will include some of the elements from both, but I have changed a few things to fit my story. I hope you don't mind. This is my very first fanfic so please review and help me improve. I have tried as hard as I can to make the characters IC, if they ended up being OOC at any point, I apologize. Thank you so very much for reading this and I hope you can enjoy it. I am going to assume that many of you have at least a basic knowledge of the main characters from the manga, so I probably won't go into too much detail about background unless it's something I made up. Thanks again.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gokusen.

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**Prologue:**

_Break: Before their senior year starts_

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"Yo guys! Did you hear about what happened on the news last night?" Kumai looked around to see if any of his friends recognized what he was talking about.

"You actually watch the news Kuma?" Minami stared at his friend in disbelief. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Ahh, shut up. My parents watch it every night, so it's not like I have a choice. Anyway, somethin' really interestin' happened. The Nekomata yakuza group was taken down in one shot."

"Ehh? How did that happen?" Ucchi looked up at Kuma, finally interested.

"My dad happens to know the investigator assigned to the case, he comes in for Ramen every once in a while, and he said that it was really weird. Apparently an anonymous source left records and proper documentation of all their illegal dealings with the police in a manila envelope. It also had a flash drive that contained most of the contact info and specific data about each and every member and the depth of their involvement. No one was spared; even the top dogs got taken out. One of them was even a famous politician on the rise." Kuma spoke in a hushed tone; almost as if he were imparting some sort of secret to the others and Noda, Minami, and Ucchi had crowded close to hear the tale.

"So, some damn coward snitched on 'em all, huh?" Shin was the only one who hadn't visibly hung on to every word. He had hung back a little and he almost seemed determined to take any excitement out of the whole affair.

"I don't think so. When the police went to capture them, somebody had apparently taken them out already. They found them unconscious and bound, and one was beaten to a bloody pulp. Apparently they'd been gathered for an important meeting and he took advantage of that fact to take them down. No one can really agree on what he looked like, but one thing they all saw was bright red hair and a panther tattoo on his right forearm. It may have even been the same guy who left that info with the police…Why don't you know about this Shin, after all, isn't your dad a higher up in the police force?"Kuma looked to Shin to see him twitch a little at the mere mention of his father.

"It's not exactly as if we're on speaking terms," Shin's voice warned the rest of them to tread carefully or change the subject.

"Whoa, that's amazing though! He took out the whole group by himself?" Ucchi's exclamation was exactly what Kuma needed to switch the topic back to the incident.

"Yeah, he must have been an impressive fighter, although I did hear that some sort of sleeping gas might have been used to weaken their defenses, I'm not entirely sure if it's true though. Even the police were kind of impressed, they call him the Panther now." Kuma sighed and looked like he might drift off into daydreaming about bloody panthers, when his thoughts were interrupted.

"The Panther? That's a bit melodramatic even for the police, don't ya think?" Shin's derisive contempt for the police did not fail to make itself apparent.

"Don't you think the title 'Guy with red hair and forearm tattooed with a panther' might be a bit long?" Noda teased Shin and nudged him with his elbow.

Shin looked at Noda, shruuged and mumbled, "Whatever," he then looked back towards Kuma, "It would be fascinating to meet this person I'm sure. I'd like to see them in action, to get past all of that gangs security and be able to knock out most of their key players, it's pretty impressive. He was probably out for vengeance since any normal person would have just left the information at the station and let the police handle it."

"Yeah, the guy must have been partially crazy too, ya know?" Noda looked ahead and saw their favorite arcade only a few feet away. "Hey guys, let's have some fun, shall we?"

"Hey, did you guys hear that Shirokin is about to become coed?" Ucchi was grinning so broadly his face looked like it might split.

"We're finally getting girls! YES!" shouted Minami with such an expression of happiness that the other guys couldn't help but laugh and join in.

As soon as they entered the arcade, Kuma went off to find some snacks and Ucchi followed a pretty girl he thought worth wooing, while Minami and Noda found a racing game to compete against each other with. Shin looked around, rather bored and saw a fighting game open. He started playing versus whoever stood on the other side. He was generally pretty good at these games, but this guy creamed him. "You go girl!" _Wait, what? A girl_? He looked around and two teenage girls similar in age to him.

The one who played against him was tall, about 5'11", with shoulder-length bright red hair that almost looked dyed. She was wearing thick glasses, which covered her dark brown eyes, and a sweatshirt with jeans. She seemed to be a foreigner. The younger one, was much shorter, though still a little on the tall side for a Japanese girl. She definitely looked more like a traditional Japanese girl. She had long thick brown, almost black, hair that flowed just past her shoulders. She was slender and pretty and she didn't have any glasses. Seeing these two together was almost comical. The tall, foreign wiry geek and an almost ideal Japanese beauty didn't seem to fit together.

As he moved to go, the younger one noticed him and waved hello. "Don't feel too bad you lost against my sister, she's always been pretty good at these things, and she can get really competitive," she smiled and held out her hand, "I'm Kurosawa Mari and this gangly unsociable fiend is my sister Taka."

"Hi, I'm Sawada Shin, and did you just say…you two are sisters? Was she adopted?" He pointed to Taka as he asked.

"Actually, I'm afraid our personal lives are none of your business. Terribly sorry if my _sister_ has caused you any trouble Sawada-san, but we must be going. Come on, Mari." The frigidity in her voice intimidated even him, just a little bit.

"No, it was no trouble. I always enjoy meeting a polite and pretty lady," Shin looked at Mari as he said this, purposefully ignoring Taka. His pride was slightly mortified at the fact that he had been beaten by a girl and this indirect jibe was mainly meant for her sake. He didn't particularly think of Mari as being pretty, but he felt he needed to deflate Taka's pride at least a little bit.

"Too bad we couldn't meet a kind and handsome gentleman, eh Mari?" Taka walked briskly away holding Mari's hand. Mari looked over her shoulder to give him a brief apologetic smile and was soon gone.

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The Head Teacher Sawatari was very upset about the Principal's decision to make Shirokin a coed school. He argued that the guys would mistreat the girls and that the teachers could do nothing about it, seeing as they could hardly protect themselves much less the young girls coming to the school. However, the school needed more people to apply so they could gain more tuition fees, and this was the best way they thought of to get more students.

"We have obtained over 200 new students and a lot girls have even decided to transfer from their current schools to come here, even in their junior and senior years" said the Principal.

"Why on earth would any girl want to transfer here?" gibed Sawatari under his breath.

"Some girls came due to lower tuition rates and there are other reasons I'm sure," the Principal said as Sawatari lowered his head in embarrassment. He hadn't thought the Principal had heard him.

"Ahh… so… are we going to separate the girls into classes evenly or are we going to clump them together so they will feel more comfortable?" asked Sawatari trying to cover up.

"We will spread them out and make sure that each class has at least two or three, though some will have quite a few more. After all, intermingling and getting to know new people, is a very important part of high school," stated the principal.

"_Every_ class? But, what about class 3-D? No girl could survive…" Sawatari started.

"I believe it will help those students become friendlier by having a girl's kind influence, besides, I have already got two girls in mind," the Principal said with a gentle smile.

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Yamaguchi Kumiko was very excited about teaching at her new school. She had heard that it had just recently become coed, so she was a little wary about how the guys would act, but she was sure she could handle it. She was the 4th generation kumichou of the Kuroda family after all. If she could handle the yakuza, she could definitely handle a few delinquent boys.

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Please Review:)


	2. Chapter 1 The New Students

**Gokusen 1**

Thank you Mana-Reader, and no this will not be a Shin/Kumi. Sorry. It may be ShinxOC, not sure yet, though.

Disclaimer: Don't own Gokusen characters or plotline.

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As Yamaguchi entered her classroom, she noticed that almost all of the chairs were completely empty. There were only two students in her class, one was snoring softly while the other looked so apathetic that she wondered why he had even come to school in the first place. "Hello, I'm Yamaguchi Kumiko, I'll be your new homeroom teacher… umm, do you happen to know where the rest of my students are?"As she addressed the apathetic redhead, he gave her a once over, decided she was nothing special, and just ignored her request.

"Aww, she changed into a jump suit."

"Where's the mini, mini, mini?"

"Why aren't there any skirts?"

"Yeah, why are the girls wearing the same thing we are?"

"I thought we'd finally be able to have some fun, I even brought my camera."

"That's exactly why they didn't allow them to wear skirts, ya dumbasses," Yamaguchi looked up as she heard the redhead mumbling. She realized it was going to be a tough job protecting the girls in her class, but she resolved to do all she could for her precious students.

"What! Why'd we get stuck with the ugly one?" a blue-haired kid loudly complained as he entered the classroom. Yamaguchi watched the rest of the boys as they started filing in.

"What the hell you lookin' at?" a big blonde boy grabbed her shirt and almost lifted her off the ground.

"Kuma, stop." Yamaguchi looked at the redhead in surprise, she didn't expect him to stand up for her, but what shocked her even more was that the blonde obeyed and immediately went back to greet him. _Well now, that's an interesting power dynamic._

As the rest of the class filed in and sat down, Yamaguchi started to introduce herself. Unfortunately, no one was listening to a word she had to say. As she was about to call for attention, the class immediately became quiet and stared at the door. Yamaguchi turned and saw the reason for their silence. Sawatari was standing at the door with two girls standing behind him. One was even taller than he was, while the other was shorter than most of her Japanese counterparts. Yamaguchi smiled and welcomed them into her classroom.

Shin looked up and immediately recognized the taller one to be from the arcade. She hadn't been a looker before, but when wearing the boys' uniform, she almost looked like a boy herself. Her androgyny wasn't lost on the boys and they immediately focused on the other shorter girl after they got over the original shock of Taka's height and foreign appearance. The short girl was slightly stocky, but she had a pretty face and an elegant air. She had long wavy black hair that fell just below her waist and she wore light make-up to accentuate her dark eyes and lightly color her lips. She was also quite well-endowed, making Taka seem even more flat-chested, unattractive and boyish in comparison.

Sawatari introduced the smaller girl as Nakamura Yasu. She looked the boys in the eyes and was rather fearless as she stated, "Hello. As the Head Teacher said, my name is Nakamura Yasu. Please take care of me." All of the boys sighed and stared, quite unabashedly, at her as she walked to the seat Yamaguchi pointed out for her. Sawatari cleared his throat and tried to gain the students' attention, but he was blatantly ignored. Nakamura had arrested their attention and a few were openly flirting with her.

Sawatari shouted for them to be quiet and then proceeded to introduce the red-head. "And this is Kurosawa Taka."

"Hello, it's nice to meet you. I hope we can all get along," Taka smiled brightly and seemed to genuinely want to be there. Shin was slightly taken aback; she seemed like an entirely different person. Her attitude was the complete opposite from what he expected.

"Shut up and sit down already!" cried one of the boys sitting near Shin.

Kurosawa ignored him completely and headed towards her seat next to Nakamura. Sawatari tried to shout to gain the class' attention one last time, but the boys were so intent on Nakamura, they didn't even pay him any heed this time. Sawatari left feeling a little dejected, while Ucchi made his move on Nakamura. Ucchi introduced himself and leaned in close to her to ask her out. She asked him to stop in a firm voice, but he ignored her and put a hand on her shoulder to turn her to face him. Suddenly, he was pulled harshly back by someone grabbing onto his shirt.

"What the hell! Who do you think you are?" Uchi yelled as he turned to face his opponent. To his shock, he saw Kurosawa standing behind him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Oops, I'm sorry. I accidentally tripped on the way to my seat. I didn't mean to grab onto you like that." Taka smiled again and sat down as if nothing happened.

He grabbed the front of her shirt and growled, "You better watch where you're going next time, bitch."

"Of course, of course. I wouldn't wish to intrude on your…erm… courtship?" Taka him in the eye and didn't back down an inch.

"What crap are you saying? Why, the hell, do you talk so stupid!" Ucchi roared.

"'Stupidly' might be a better word choice-" she started when Ucchi interrupted her.

"You wanna die! I don't give a damn! Just who-"

Taka had been looking around when she saw a 500 yen coin on the corner of her desk. "Oooh! A coin!" Taka stood quickly, placing her palms on her desk to give her more strength and leverage, and leaned forward to pick it up, her head jamming into Ucchi's nose. As she grabbed it, she looked up and noticed Ucchi's bloody nose with limited surprise. "Oh dear, did I hit you? I'm terribly sorry; I've actually got quite a hard head. I am awfully sorry if I hurt you."

"You'll pay for this!" Ucchi started to yell, but Yamaguchi then chose that time to yell out that class was starting. Ucchi was still muttering curses, but took his seat. Yamaguchi soon pulled her students together to get some sort of order. As she tried to pass out papers to try to get to know the students better, they just started to crumple them up and throw them at her.

Taka and Yasu looked at each other in disbelief; they couldn't believe how immature the seniors were. One boy near Taka took out a baseball, she was about to intervene when she realized that if Yamaguchi couldn't even survive her first day here, she probably wasn't worth her salt as a teacher. Besides, she figured Yamaguchi should be able to handle this from what little she knew of the woman's background… He threw it at Yamaguchi and Taka watched as the ball flew in a straight line towards Yamaguchi's head. At the very last second, Yamaguchi dodged the ball and caught it in her hand. Yasu gasped and turned to find a smirk on Taka's face. Taka immediately noticed the strange look she was getting and feigned surprise a couple seconds too late.

Yamaguchi started exclaiming over how dangerous it was for them to be throwing baseballs around and acting frightened and Taka couldn't help but laugh. Yamaguchi looked at her with confusion and Taka immediately stopped and tried her best to compose herself. She shrugged, "I suppose we should have known that these boys would like to play with balls, considering they've had little else to occupy their time…" Yasu glanced at her in shock and starting laughing, her mind in the gutter. The boys also understood exactly what she was implying, but they didn't seem to appreciate her humor... Yamaguchi played it off really well by making it about sports and acting naive.

"What a dumb bitch!" Noda rolled his eyes.

Kuma looked back at Shin and Noda, "But, man, she had me worried there for a second."

"That's some fluke timing, right Shin?" asked Ucchi as he looked at his classmate.

"…." Shin didn't reply.

"Hey guys, look up here!" Yamaguchi was saying, "Today we're starting with parabolic equations…"

"By the way, thanks for helping me out earlier," Yasu whispered.

"What on earth do you mean by that?" Taka looked at her with surprise.

"Ahh… nevermind," replied Yasu, uneasily.

Shin watched his new homeroom teacher with a great deal more interest than he had earlier, and he almost completely forgot about Taka.

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Please Review and let me know what you think:) Constructive criticism welcome:)

(Thank you akiho 13 for your advice)


	3. Chapter 2 A fight!

**Gokusen 2**

Disclaimer: I do not own Gokusen.

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_Next Day_

As Yamaguchi was walking to class she saw Kuma held firmly against the wall by two tallish brutes that looked like they could be pro-wrestlers if they so desired. "Meet us behind Ara High, after school," Punk One threatened as he shoved Kuma farther back into the wall.

Punk Two glared at Kuma, "And you better be alone." He then spit on the floor and motioned to Punk One to follow him as he turned to leave the school grounds.

Yamaguchi looked up at Kuma with concern, "Kumai-kun, what's going on? Class is about to start."

"…" Kuma stared off into the distance, not paying her any attention.

Yamaguchi waved her hand in front of his face to gain his attention, "Hello? Is something wrong?"

"Shut your face! It's got nothing to do with you!" Kuma yelled as he snapped out of his reverie. He ran down the hall to class not bothering to cast Taka one glance as she waved hello.

Yamaguchi saw Taka's attempt and wondered just how long she had been standing there. Yamaguchi knew something was a little off about her, but she wasn't sure what it was yet. She would have to keep an eye on her, along with the class' leader Shin.

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Taka walked into the classroom and saw a picture of a robust naked woman taped to the board with Yamaguchi's face photo-shopped onto it. Around the pictures were various phrases and insults like, "Shocking news! Yankumi Nekked! Were you born with those huge tits?"

Taka sighed and sat down next to Yasu. Yasu spoke English rather well and had a penchant for languages so she and Taka would sometimes converse in English with relative ease. Yasu used this opportunity to practice and learn more and Taka liked keeping fluent in her mother's native language. Therefore, it was no surprise to Yasu when Taka said in fluent English, "These boys are such idiots they can't even insult people properly," Yasu smiled back at her, knowing that none of the boys in class paid enough attention in their English classes to understand a word they were saying. This was a definite added bonus, and made it seem like the two had a secret code language between themselves.

"It's a pity they can't even use the proper Kanji any that kindergartner would know," Yasu replied and they both laughed.

They suddenly stopped when they heard a voice behind them say, in perfect English, "It's also a pity, that you two are so cowardly that you cannot 'properly' insult these boys to their faces." Shin smirked and looked down at them as they turned to see who had spoken.

Yasu flinched and looked down, ashamed. Taka looked him in the eye completely unfazed, and stated in nonchalant Japanese, "Well then, let me repeat myself," she stood up and got the class' attention, "You boys are complete idiots, and I find it hard to believe you made it to high school when you make such blatant errors when using simple Kanji." She looked Shin in the eye and spoke once more in English, "It was not due to cowardice that I spoke in English."

Shin looked at her with mild surprise and amusement, "Then why did you?"

She glanced at him with annoyance, "And I have to explain everything I do for your sake, because…?" She turned back to Yasu in a clear dismissal of him. He rolled his eyes and walked back to his seat as she sat back down and ignored the angry glares and outbursts from the rest of the class. Luckily, before anything violent happened, Yamaguchi walked in. The class waited with baited breath for her reaction, but when she merely stared at the picture for a few seconds before calmly correcting their spelling, they glared at her in shock.

She looked up at them though, as she reached a few unfamiliar characters, and with confusion clear in her voice, she asked, "What is this 'Yankumi'? Are you guys talking about me?"

"Duh, Yamaguchi Kumiko, right? So, Yankumi it is," drawled boy 1.

"Goku, Enkumi, Yankumi, how about it? I thought of it myself," Noda proudly added.

"Oooh, so it's my nickname! Wahh, so kawai!" Yamaguchi squealed with happiness.

"What a dumb bitch!" Ucchi moaned.

"Wow that was pointless. All we did was end up pleasing her," Minami put his feet up on the desk and shook his head in disappointment.

"Man, she's a naturally born dumbass! Don't ya think, Kuma?" Ucchi asked Kuma.

"…"

"Kuma? What's wrong?" Ucchi looked at his friend with concern.

* * *

Yamaguchi shared the photo with Fujiyama-sensei, and they both had a good laugh over its silliness.

"This is a good one. It's a classic!" Fujiyama exclaimed.

"Don't you think so?" replied Yamaguchi with a smile.

The Principal came over and got a nosebleed from looking at the picture. He had thought it was literally Yamaguchi naked. Fujiyama then explained to him the wonders of Photoshop and he got over his mistake.

"Fujiyama-sensei and Yamaguchi-sensei, right?" came a voice from behind them. "I'm Eguchi, and I take the second year's group 3. Nice to meet you." He smiled politely and shook her hand.

"Ahh, nice to meet you too," replied Fujiyama.

"I'm sorry, I was running around for the past two or three days and I never got around to meeting you." Eguchi said politely.

"Ahh! That student arrested for violence was in your class, right?" inquired Fujiyama.

"That's right, that's why I'm so busy. Actually, I had to go to the police again today," Eguchi sounded so tired, Fujiyama felt bad for him.

"Hmm. So you went to a **kaimen,*** right?" asked Yamaguchi.

"Kaimen?... Oh, you mean menkai? That's right, I went to one," Eguchi replied, slightly confused. Yamaguchi felt like ducking under a desk. She couldn't believe she made such a slip-up on her first day here. She realized she would really have to watch her language and the yakuza-specific vocabulary she used to pass as a so-called "**katagi**".**

"Speaking of violence, Sekiguchi, from my class, got beaten up," interjected Fujiyama.

"Eh? Isn't Sekiguchi class 2's boss?" asked the teacher behind her.

"Apparently, but he's got cuts and bruises everywhere, and he won't say anything when I ask," Fujiyama replied, sad that her student didn't feel he could confide in her.

"That's probably because the backlash that would come from the people who beat him up, if he was to tell us anything," the teacher replied, noticing her obvious distress.

"Hmm… but if Sekiguchi got beaten, there's either some internal dispute, or it has something to do with another school," said Eguchi.

"In any case, my bet is that it was done by **katagi****,"said Yamaguchi, resting her chin on her palm.

"Katagi?... You say some funny things Yamaguchi-sensei," said Eguchi as he burst out laughing. Yamaguchi felt like swearing, she couldn't believe she'd made the same mistake twice in one conversation. "There's also the possibility that it was the Ara High students," Eguchi said as he sobered up.

"Ara High?" asked Fujiyama.

"You see, there was this student called Kudou, who was expelled because he kept causing problems, but it seems that he is sneaking onto the school grounds to take charge of the third years from Ara High again. So, perhaps he's leading the others in bullying our third years," Eguchi replied.

At this Yamaguchi started and looked up. She suddenly remembered the encounter Kuma had had and how nervous he had seemed afterwards. She got up and ran out of the office without looking back. As she arrived at the back of the gym at Ara High, she saw four young men surrounding and taunting Kuma, but just as she was about to step in she saw Taka run up from the opposite side. Yamaguchi was curious as to how this was going to turn out and she knew she could always jump in quickly if anything happened.

"Good afternoon Kuma-kun!" Taka shouted as she got close.

"Oh, that's the dumb-ass transfer chick, from his class," said one of the boys.

"You told that bitch you were coming!" shouted the obvious leader, Kudou.

"Kudou, wait… I dun think so…" said the boy.

"Fancy meeting you here, Kuma-kun! I just lost my watch the other day, and was looking for it, would you-" Taka started to say, completely ignoring the four other boys.

Kudou grabbed her from behind, "Kyaaa! What are you doing?" Taka yelled.

"Hya, let's do her man," said one of the boys, getting excited.

"Taka-" Kuma started, but he was karate chopped and knocked unconscious by the boy closest to him. _What a dumb girl._ Kuma thought before he passed out.

Yamaguchi was about to say something, when she noticed Taka didn't look the least bit scared or concerned. She looked completely different from the carefree and innocent "honor student" that Yankumi had met in class. Her eyes were now cold and calculating, but she still kept her smile in place. Though now, that smile looked more like some feral, predatory cat bearing its teeth and warning its prey. She first checked to see whether or not Kuma was truly unconscious, he was still slightly cognizant, so she quickly slipped out of Kudou's grip and knocked him out as gently as she could.

"No way in hell, it can't be… what's your name?" Kudou asked, looking at her with surprise and a slow dawning of recognition.

"Taka-chan," she said in a girly voice, a very clear mockery of the tone she used every day in class.

"Get her!" shouted Kudou.

The three boys then proceeded to rush her and as she dodged the first punch thrown she came up under his arm and hit him right in the pit of his stomach, knocking his breath out, she then dropped his body to the ground as she kicked the boy that had come up behind her in the gut as well. The third boy, seeing his first friend taken out so easily, was more wary. He approached her slowly and right after she had kicked the second boy he came up behind her and got in a punch to the back of her head. She turned around to face him, easily dodged a second hit, and punched him in the pit of his stomach, as well.

Then, lowering her voice to a much more threatening tone, she warned Kudou, "If you ever try to hurt one of my classmates again, I swear this beating will seem gentle in comparison with what I will do to you then," she then knocked him out with a well placed kick and sent him flying back into the concrete.

Yamaguchi was impressed. The girl's skill could easily rival her own with a bit more training. Even with the damage done, she could tell that Taka had been restraining herself and not going all-out. These boys had been a mere warm-up session. Taka then cracked her neck as she stretched it out, and laughed to herself. "You poor fools, don't you have anything better to do?" She looked up and saw Yankumi standing there, simultaneously hearing the Shin and his friends talking loudly and heading their way. "Come on sensei, let's get out of here quick," Taka said as she started to run away from the voices.

Yamaguchi followed her around the opposite side of the building and out of the school grounds. "Wait up, why are you running?" panted Yamaguchi.

"Well, I didn't really want Shin, Minami or Ucchi finding out about the fight," Taka replied in a reasonable tone.

"Why not? They would respect you and probably welcome you since you defended their friend," Yamaguchi asked, confused.

"I have some secrets I'd prefer them not knowing. Just like you do," Taka replied.

"What, me? Secrets? What secrets would I possibly want to hide from my students?" Yamaguchi asked a little nervously.

"Perhaps the fact that you're the fourth generation of the Kuroda line?" Taka replied, with an innocent smile.

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A /N:** *Kaimen** is a Yakuza word for an interview with the police. Regular Japanese term is Menkai.

**** Katagi**, is a yakuza term for civilians not involved with the yakuza

Please review my story. I would greatly appreciate it! Also, if you find some things are different or don't match up with what you read previously, I changed and updated the prologue and first chapter a bit. Sorry for any confusion. This is the very first time I've done this, so I'm kind-of learning as I go. Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 3 A Promise

Gokusen 3

Thank you Tiryn! You're very kind.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gokusen (anime, manga, nor drama), nor do I make any profit from writing this.

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Shin had been called by Ucchi and Minami. They had said it was an emergency and he came running. When he arrived at school, some of the boys were wondering what he was doing there since school had just ended, but Minami and Ucchi found him relatively quickly.

"Shin! Kuma he… he got called out by the third years from Ara High!" Minami said as he ran up to Shin.

"Whaat?...Why the hell'd you let him go alone?" Shin yelled as they started running towards Ara High.

"Cuz… cuz he said not to go and…and from my guess Kudou's behind all this!" Ucchi stuttered nervously. As they neared the gym they saw a large object lying on the ground. At first they couldn't tell what it was, but then…

"Kuma!" Shin yelled as he recognized his friend knocked out on the ground, with bruises everywhere. "Hey Kuma! You OK?"

"Uh… Shin…chan," Kuma groaned weakly.

"Can you get up?" Shin asked with worry in his voice.

"Yeah…Hey! Where's whats-her-name? Where's Taka?" Kuma suddenly remembered.

"Taka?" Shin asked.

"Taka was here?" Ucchi asked incredulously.

"She…came by coincidently and… got caught by Kudou…by now she's probably…" Kuma started, Shin could guess the rest.

"What the hell is this!" shouted Minami in shock. "Shin! Over here! Kodou and the third years are totally knocked out!"

"And they're stacked on top of each other," Ucchi added in an awed voice.

Shin walked over to examine the bodies lying on the ground. "They were all knocked out by one blow to the stomach," he said quietly.

"Holy shit! Who the hell did that?" asked Ucchi.

"…Taka?" Shin guessed.

"Haha, Taka?" said Minami.

"Not in a million years," replied Ucchi in a jocular tone.

* * *

Yankumi was so shocked she couldn't say anything for a moment. "H-how did you know about my family?" Yamaguchi stammered.

"I already told you, I have my secrets," Taka replied enigmatically; her usual geeky awkwardness was replaced by a cool, calm and collected air that seemed to come naturally.

"Are you involved with the yakuza?" Yamaguchi asked incredulously.

"Not really," Taka replied, indifferently. "But, we understand each other, right? I haven't told anyone your secrets and so you won't tell anyone mine, yeah? I'm not trying to blackmail you or anything. After all, even if you told them, I wouldn't rat you out for some sort of petty vengeance, but I just figured, that since you and I were in the same boat, we could understand each other," Taka's words started to rush together towards the end, and she almost sounded nervous to Yamaguchi, but her facial expression stayed cold and indifferent throughout.

Yamaguchi looked at her curiously, "How long have you known about my family?" she asked.

"Ever since I saw your name put down as my homeroom teacher. I knew about the famous Kuroda family and their precious Ojou long before I came to this school. I was a little surprised when I saw that you were my teacher, but I never talked to anyone about your background. I honestly couldn't care less about it," Taka replied.

"Well, thanks for not saying anything. But how do you know about the yakuza? You must be connected in some way, because most high school kids have no idea about who's in which group. To be able to identify me solely by my name means you must be pretty familiar with our world. I know you said you had your secrets, but, please, tell me that, at least," Yamaguchi said.

"I promise you I am not, in any way, connected to the Yakuza. My friend had made a mistake, and she got desperate for money. She decided, stupidly, to borrow from a 'friend' of hers who was involved with the Nekomata group. It turns out that the money she received was from a loan shark who was going to force her to pay 50% interest, and who threatened her with violence if she didn't comply," Taka said, her fists clenched as she recalled how her friend was treated. "She didn't know where else to go, so she asked me for help. That's when I did research on that and other various yakuza groups in the area. It was because of this that I found out about you guys."

"What happened to your friend?" asked Yamaguchi.

"The group was arrested a month later and I didn't end up having to do anything much to help her. All of their underhanded dealings came to light and they no longer had time to worry about a poor girl who couldn't really pay them back anyway. You heard about it right?" Taka inquired.

"Oh yeah, the whole 'Panther' incident, right?" remembered Yamaguchi.

"Yeah, that's it," said Taka.

"Wow, you're friend was really lucky. That was excellent timing for her, huh?" Yamaguchi said.

"Yeah, she's lucky alright… Well, I have to head home soon, or else Mari will worry," Taka said.

"Mari?" Yamaguchi asked.

"My little sister, she'll already be upset enough that I got into another fight," Taka explained in a slightly embarrassed voice, her awkward self returning.

"You get into fights often?" asked Yamaguchi, slightly surprised. _You're little sister? What about your parents?_ Yamaguchi thought to herself.

"Bah, I've already told you too much. I'll keep some things to myself, thank you very much," Taka replied smiling, genuinely this time.

"All right, I'll see you tomorrow at school then, right?" Yamaguchi asked

"Yeah… You won't tell them, right? About the fight?" Taka asked, a little tentatively.

"Your secret's safe with me," Yamaguchi assured her with a smile. "See you tomorrow!" As Yamaguchi started to head back to her house she wondered about all that she had just found out._____ Just who is Taka Kurosawa? How did she get so strong? Why is she so determined to keep that strength a secret? I actually have a legitimate reason to hide mine. I'll be fired if anyone finds out about my family, but __she's just a kid. What, or who, is she hiding from?_

_____

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_

Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks!


	5. Chapter 4 Slight Irritaion

Gokusen: 4

Disclaimer: I do not own any form of Gokusen, nor do I gain any profit from writing this, except for the happiness it brings.

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_Next day_

Yamaguchi walked into her classroom to see Kuma covered in bruises. "Kumai-kun, are you ok? It looks like someone got you pretty badly, huh?" she asked him.

"Yankumi…" Kuma started

Taka entered the classroom at this point, with her thick red hair covering up half her face, and her glasses almost covering up the other half. She looked completely untouched and as geeky as always. The boys looked up surprised. They had heard that she had been caught by Kudou, so they thought she would be sporting some hefty bruises as well.

"Oi! Kurosawa, how did you get out of there alive?" Ucchi asked.

"Oh, I just ran like mad after an intimidating man tried to grab me from behind. I'm actually pretty fast you know," she said as she walked to her desk. She sat down and pulled out Caesar and Cleopatra by Bernard Shaw. She was quickly so absorbed, that she failed to take heed of anything else happening around her.

"See, there's no way Taka knocked 'em out," Ucchi said in a conversational tone with Shin.

"Yeah man, I mean Kudou's not exactly weak, ya know?" replied Minami.

"Then who the hell did it?" asked Shin in frustration.

"That, I dun know," replied Ucchi.

"Maybe it was the same guy who out the Nekomata group. Perhaps he's got a thing against gangs," Noda said jokingly.

Shin just rolled his eyes and prayed that his friends' stupidity wouldn't rub off any time soon. "Kuma!"

"huh?" Kuma replied.

"Go and knock out Taka from behind," Shin told him. Taka and Mari sat next to each other on the other side of the class, and only a few rows back from the front of the class. "Yamaguchi's not looking right now."

"awwww, why? I dun wanna," Kuma whined.

"Just do it," Shin ordered, "She'll probably dodge it, even if she doesn't see you."

Kuma sneaked over to where Taka was blatantly ignoring Yamaguchi's lesson, and immersing herself in her book. He karate chopped her head as she was flipping the page.

"Ow ow ow owww," Taka said after a slight hesitation, "That was mean! What was that for?"

"Oops…, sorry really," Kuma said, almost shyly, as he headed back to his seat. He genuinely felt bad about hitting a girl.

Taka immediately went back to her book, completely unperturbed.

Shin noticed the hesitation in her reaction, and the way she immediately went back to reading, but he really didn't know what to make of it. Maybe she really was just slow and naïve, "How boring," he said. He then proceeded to leave the room, with his friends following him.

"Wait! You can't just leave in the middle of class!" shouted Yamaguchi.

* * *

_Lunch_

Taka headed up to the roof to be alone and finish reading her book. She sat Indian-style and held her book in her lap. Shin saw her sitting in his favorite place and went up to her.

"Oi! What's wrong with you? You think you can just sit wherever you like?" asked Shin looking down at her. Taka didn't even notice he was there. She was so absorbed, she hadn't even heard him speak.

"It's rude to ignore people who are talking to you," Shin sneered as he took her book from her hands."What's so fascinating about this thing anyways?"

"It's about Caesar coming to conquer Egypt, and his encounter with Cleopatra. He explains to her the philosophy behind his beliefs. Mainly, about why he believes killing someone you believe to be a threat to you in cold blood is acceptable, but killing out of vengeance is inexcusable," she explained in a calm voice. "May I please have my book back?" inquired Taka, looking at him with her usual fake, innocuous smile.

"If you get off my seat, I'll give it to you. If you don't, I may just throw it off of the roof" replied Shin coolly.

"Are you threatening me?" Taka asked, acting hurt. Shin quickly made the connection.

"Are you seriously implying that if I become a threat, you'll consider killing me? Do you really like Caesar that much?" Shin asked with a smirk, hoping things might finally get interesting.

"No, I don't really care for him personally," Taka said nonchalantly, then suddenly, "Besides, dear, _why_ on earth would you _ever_ think that I would even _begin_ to think of killing someone? I'm just a young innocent high school girl. Such a thing would be much too horrible to even contemplate," Taka replied, almost sounding shocked. "…Though, Shaw does make a few good points worth considering, that doesn't mean I necessarily agree with him," Taka said, sounding a little rushed at the end.

"Well, are you going to get off of my seat or what?" Shin asked impatiently. He was disappointed and getting tired of her quickly.

"Sure, sure. If you wanted it that badly you could have just asked me instead of taking my book like that, ya know?" She said, wearily getting up and reaching for her book.

"I did, but you completely ignored me!" Shin yelled angrily.

"No need to get so mad about it. I probably just didn't hear you. You should learn speak up a little," she replied, smiling annoyingly and pushing her glasses further up onto the bridge of her nose. She then grabbed her book and started walking towards the other side of the roof.

"Damn, preppy bitch," Shin cursed under his breath.

* * *

"Hello _Taka-chan,_ we found that _watch_ you were looking for the other day," said a big boy with his nose pierced, "If you meet us at the riverbank by the bridge in two hours, we'll give it to you. But, if you don't show up, we'll just give it to your friend Kuma instead."

"Thank you so much for telling me! I'll definitely be there!" she replied, in the girliest voice she could conjure.

"Good, we'll be waiting," He replied, laughing to himself as he left.

"What was that about?" asked a familiar, mocking voice.

Taka whirled around to see Shin lounging against the side of the school. "Well… I was looking for my watch the other day, and it seems that a friend of mine was kind enough to find it for me!" Taka covered.

"Really? That's interesting, I've never seen you wearing a watch before," he said coldly.

"I… usually carry it with me in my backpack, because I play with it too much if I wear it on my wrist," she said smiling.

"Then why did he ask you to meet him, instead of just bringing the watch to you?" He asked, walking towards her.

"I don't know. Maybe he accidently left it at home; he can be a little absent-minded at times. I've got to be going now. Bye." She turned around and started to walk away. Shin grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

"He's one of Kudou's men, isn't he?" he said in a low voice.

"Kudou? Who's that?" Taka asked, genuinely confused. She hadn't actually heard the name of the man she'd beaten up.

"The guy who instigated the beating of Kuma at Ara High the other day," Shin replied.

"Oh… well he might have heard me asking Kuma to help me look for it, but that guy is my friend, not one of Kudou's men," Taka lightheartedly replied.

"So, you're honestly trying to get me to believe that that big punk with a bad taste in earrings is a friend of 'Taka the preppy honor student'?" Shin asked caustically. For some reason, the last part finally seemed to get under her thick skin.

"If I were really just a preppy honor student with preppy honor student friends, do you honestly think I would have been placed in 3-D?" Taka replied with the same ice in her voice that she had when she first met him in the arcade, though still with a fake smile plastered on her face. "Don't be so quick to judge people you know absolutely nothing about." Taka wrenched her arm out of his grip and walked away. When she was a safe distance away, she suddenly turned: "Oh yeah, Sawada-kun, see you tomorrow!" she said in a cutesy voice, as she walked around the corner.

* * *

Sorry this chapter took so long to come out. I have been really busy with college and my classes lately. The chapters will probably come out slower now, maybe once every 2 weeks or so, just because I'm really busy with school. (Though if you give me some reviews, I might just get them out quicker, :) we'll see.) Please review, constructive criticism is welcome. This is my first fanfic, so it is a learning process for me. Please help. Thank you so much!


	6. Chapter 5 Riverside Brawl

Gokusen 5

Thank you Loser 94, I really appreciate your honesty and your input:)

Thanks again Tiryn^^

Disclaimer: I don't own any form of Gokusen.

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_Crap, why did I have to lose my temper like that?_ Taka fumed as she walked toward the bridge to meet Kudou. _Why does that dumb kid get under my skin so much? He's ten times smarter than any of the other punks, yet I'm slipping up in front of him! Tch. Damn kid. He'll find out about me if I keep on acting stupid... __I'm honestly surprised he didn't follow me here… oh well, maybe he actually bought my messed up story?... Yeah right._

As Taka walked down to the river, she saw Kudou with about 13 other kids holding chains, pipes and copper knuckles. She sighed and shook her head. She hadn't thought that she merited _this_ much attention. She knew she could probably beat them if she could get them to come at her one by one, but she didn't really see any way of doing that. She was positive though, she couldn't beat them on her own as they were right now.

She hadn't alerted them to her presence quite yet, and she realized she could gain at least a little bit of advantage by showing up on the other side of the river. She could sneak across the bridge, and come at them from the other side. They would then be forced to wade through the waist deep water before they reached her on dry ground. She figured she might be able to face them in smaller groups then as well, as opposed to all at once, since they probably wouldn't be organized enough to realize, much less react to, her strategy. Some might hesitate at entering the river at all, while others would plunge in. The cold water would also leech their energy and bog down their clothes a little bit. _Every bit helps._ She thought as she loosened her muscles with a few stretches.

She knew she wouldn't get through this without a scratch, but she at least had a fighting chance now. She snuck across the bridge with relative ease, since they weren't really watching for her to do this, and came down the far bank.

"Hey boys, I heard you found the watch I was looking for!" she shouted across the river.

"Yeah, so why don't you come over here and get it?" Kudou sneered as he sauntered towards her.

"What, are you little boys afraid of getting wet? I mean, I know you chickened out the other day, but I just figured it was a bad case of nerves. Are you really so terrified of everything?" she taunted, trying her best to make it sound somewhat natural.

Luckily, these "tough guys" handled the insults as well as she thought. Two of the most hot-headed dashed into the river to "teach her who should be scared" according to their bruised egos. Kudou tried to stop them, but they didn't listen. Soon, the rest of the gang followed as she had hoped they would. The cold water had the desired effect of slowing them down a little bit. As the first two came at her, one with brass knuckles, the other with a pipe, she dodged the first punch thrown by Brass Knuckles and she punched him in the pit of his stomach, knocking the air out of him and incapacitating him for a while. She then dodged and caught the pipe as it swung down to her left. She twisted and wrenched it out of the boy's hands, then whacked him in the head to leave him unconscious.

The three man team that had crossed the river right after them had a man in the lead with a chain. As he whipped it towards her, she caught it on her pipe. It wrapped itself around due to its momentum and she jerked the kid toward her while bringing her leg up to kick him squarely in the jaw. Due to the force of the kick, he was knocked unconscious, as was the next man who came at her with brass knuckles. His punch was blocked by the pipe, and his head was hit soon after.

The water had slowed the boys down, and though they had handled street fighting very well, they had never been properly trained. The difference in how they fought was similar to night and day and made itself known very quickly to them. She was quick and fast due to hours of relentless training day after day. These boys, who got into fights occasionally and relied more on brute strength and street experience than on rigorous training, were well respected in the streets for a reason, but she had been trained professionally how to turn her opponents strength against them. Any advantage they had due to weapons and numbers was mostly taken away when she stole the pipe and through her training. She was quicker and stronger than these boys due to all the hard, intense hours of work she had put in.

They did get in a few hits. One kid with brass knuckles got in a punch when she was focused on fending off two of his comrades, though he didn't stay standing after she used the back edge of her pipe to hit him in the groin. Others would get in a few hits as well, but she knew how to roll with the punches and take the least amount of harm from the inevitable hits. By the time she had defeated the 13 boys, she looked pretty bad. The adrenaline faded and she felt every blow anew. She looked up as she heard Kudou clap his hands with a sardonic smile. "Well well, that was quite the show. You aren't looking too good though. Do you honestly think you can stand up against me right now, or even stand up for that matter?"

"I can take you anytime, I'm actually feeling rather good right now. I haven't had this good a workout in some time. You won't last too long even if I don't look my best," she smiled, though it hurt, just to piss him off. Rage made people make mistakes, hopefully he would be baited.

"Baiting me won't work quite as well as it did with my gang," he looked so sure of himself she wasn't sure she'd stop at non-fatal injuries as she had with the rest of his group.

"Is that what you call this rag tag group? They're far too pathetic to be called a gang if you ask me," she tried to make the words as strong and spiteful as she could, but being so worn out, she was breathing hard at the end of it.

"We'll see about that!" He attacked her with a speed and precision the others hadn't had. He was definitely the best fighter out of this group, and though she could have easily taken care of him when she was fresh, she had a very difficult time fighting him now. He had a pipe and though she was excellent with kendo, she was really tired. Soon, however, the adrenaline from being in a fight took over again and her pains and aches faded as she gained her second breath. His ribs took a beating and she soon had him on the ground in front of her, unarmed and pitiful. He was now gasping for breath and struggling to stand.

"Now Kudou, will you promise me you'll never touch those boys again?" she threatened more than asked, as she dragged him up by the collar to face her.

"Why the hell do you care?" He rasped as he struggled, only a little bit, to get out of her grasp.

"I just don't have the stomach to deal with pathetic cowards who enjoy teaming up against people in unfair fights. Don't let me down Kudou, or my friends will join me next time. They aren't anywhere near as kind as I am either, so be careful," she threw him down to the ground and started to walk towards home, not even waiting for a response. She knew her message had gotten through, and if it hadn't, he would definitely learn next time.

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AN: So sorry for the late update and sorry for any major grammar mistakes, (this was written in the wee hours of the morning and I wasn't all there when i wrote it:). I may be late with my next chapter as well with things getting crazily busy over the holidays, so I apologize ahead of time. I'll try to do the best I can though:) Please let me know your thoughts:) I really appreciate it when you do. Hope you enjoyed, and have a Merry ChristmaHanukkawanzaa and a Happy New Year:)


	7. Chapter 6 Aftermath

Gokusen 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the OCs and whatever plotline that didn't come from the manga or drama

Loser94: Thank you for the ideas, and I will try to make my chapters longer:)

Tiryn: I tried to change it up a little bit, hopefully it's better:) and thank you for helping me.

Rynn: I promise I will finish this story, no matter how long it takes me:) I really enjoy writing it and reading your reviews, thanks:)

* * *

Shin had waited until Taka had turned the corner before heading down to the riverbank. He ran a different way, which also happened to be a short cut, so that she didn't know he had "followed" her there. As soon as he got there, he saw the fourteen guys carrying chains, pipes and brass knuckles. _Shit, that girl got in way too deep. I don't care how good she is, there's no way she can handle them on her own._ Shin pulled out his cell to text Kuma and the guys to get down to the river, he knew if he and the boys helped her out, she would at least have a chance. _Wait, why am I helping her? She clearly didn't want me here, and she's been nothing but obnoxious and bitchy since she came to our school...even so, I can't just sit back and watch some girl get the crap beaten out of her, no matter how enjoyable that concept may be…_ As Shin flipped open his phone and turned it on, he got absolutely no reaction. His phone was dead. _Shoot! Two against fourteen isn't much better than one._

Shin did some quick thinking and realized that it might be better if he just ran back to the school to get the boys. After all, if he jumped in to help her alone, he wouldn't do that much good. He figured they would both just get beaten up if he tried. At least with his four friends coming, they would even out the odds a little better. He just hoped that she would last long enough for him to go to the school, find his friends, and get back. Then again he didn't have to hurry _too_ much; he smirked as he ran off._ Some humility will do her good._

It was about a twenty-five minute walk to get to the riverbank the way Taka went, the short cut cut down the distance to little over a mile and the time to around 20 minutes when walking. With Shin now running, it only took him about 10 minutes to get back to the school. He hadn't run a mile in quite some time, so he was breathing pretty heavily by the time he reached his friends. "What's the rush?" smirked Ucchi as he leaned on a lamp post nearby.

"Come on guys, no time (pant) to explain," Shin took a deep breath, waved for them to follow him, turned around and started running again. Kuma, Minami, Noda, and Ucchi looked at each other in surprise for a moment before quickly following him back to the river. Shin figured that Taka had probably been alone with the gang for about twenty minutes before he and his buddies reached the area. The trip back had taken quite a bit longer because he was tired and Kuma, while strong, had never been fast. He hoped Taka wasn't beaten up _too_ badly…

As soon as the river came back into view he jerked to a stop and his mouth fell open. Where there was once a group of fourteen strong fighters, now lay a group of disheveled and beaten boys of the same number. He didn't see Taka anywhere and he had a sneaking suspicion that the next time he saw her, she would feign ignorance once again. He would have absolutely nothing to pin her there and he couldn't possibly convince any of his friends of his suspicions either. All this went though his mind in a second and he quickly shut his jaw when Kuma asked, "What did you bring us here for?"

"…"

"Helllooo Shiin? What was the big rush?" questioned Ucchi while waving his hand in front of Shin's face.

"…I saw a fight ready to happen and thought you guys would like to watch, but it appears the fight is already over. Sorry guys, you rushed out here for nothing, apparently, " Shin sighed as he ran his hand through his hair and gripped the top of his head in a frustrated gesture. It wasn't the best cover up he could come up with, but he was too tired and frustrated to care at this point. The fighters were slowly coming around and he didn't want to remain there too long for fear of inviting trouble. "Come on guys, let's go."

"ummm… ok?" the four boys looked at Shin in disbelief for a few moments before following him to their favorite hangout. Shin knew his friends thought he was acting strangely, but he just couldn't bring himself to try to explain what he thought had happened to them while they still didn't believe that Taka was even capable of taking on the three from the previous fight. He was pissed off not knowing exactly what happened. He couldn't even be positive himself that it was her, but he was pretty darn sure she had taken at least some part in all of this. Maybe she even had a partner; he honestly couldn't imagine her taking on those men by herself either, but something told him it just might be possible. There was definitely something beneath the ridiculous front she showed everyone else, of that he was positive… sort of.

* * *

It was about 8:30 p.m. when Taka got back to their apartment. After the fight, she had limped away to sit down on a bench near a local park. She was too tired and sore to walk back home, so she had finished her homework while putting off the walk for as long as humanly possible. Even so, what normally took about 30 minutes on a bad day, took her an hour to walk today.

"MARI-CHAN! Yoohoo! You home yet?" Taka yelled as she walked into their small, shoddy apartment about 2 miles from Shirokin Gakuen. Their apartment was in a rundown and poor part of Tokyo. It was a small 17 sq. m., one kitchen one bath apartment with a sleeping area complete with a loft. Mari slept up in the loft and kept a sheet hanging up around it to form a "private" room of sorts. Taka slept underneath of it and did the same to give herself some semblance of privacy. It was extremely small and crowded, especially since two people were sleeping there when it was mainly built for one person. The good thing about it though, was that it only cost 35,000 yen (approx. $450) per month and it was only a few miles from Shirokin Gakuen. It was a short enough distance that both her sister and she could walk to school together in the morning. They usually didn't meet up after school due to the fact that they were both busy with friends, part-time jobs or study groups.

Mari usually worked from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. every week Tues-Fri and from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Taka's work schedule was similar but instead of Mondays off, she would have a break on Fridays instead. She was lucky the boys had called her out on a Friday, or else she would have shown up late for work, and this time she didn't think she'd have been able to cover up the bruises and cuts eminent on her face and arms. She realized perfectly well that her priorities were messed up in that she would place a fight's importance over work, but she rationalized it by telling herself that she was doing this solely to protect Kuma…well mostly anyhow.

"I was in the bathroom," explained the young girl in an overly patient voice. "You didn't have to yell." She came out of the bathroom still drying her hands.

"Sorry, I just-"

"What the hell? You got into a fight again? What are you, a masochist?" She yelled as soon as she looked up and saw the bruise and the cut on Taka's left cheek. Mari ran up to her sister and held her face tenderly in her hand trying to examine her injuries, even as her anger made her voice loud and harsh. "You do realize you have to work tomorrow, right? They're going to fire you if you come in with abrasions and lacerations like this! They are not going to be happy if one of their waitresses is scaring off all of the customers." She quickly ran back to the bathroom and got her first aid kit, which she had learned to keep handy at _all_ times.

"But they were going to beat up on a young defenseless boy and-"

"By young and defenseless you mean some stupid punk who was probably just getting what he deserved, right?" Mari was now liberally applying disinfectant to her sister's various cuts as gently as she could. Taka still winced slightly because of the burn, but she was so used to it by now that she hardly reacted at all. "Geez Taka, can't you ever just walk by and ignore crap like that? Why do you always feel the need to get involved? Violence never solves anything it only ever perpetuates more violence, you know that right?"

"Yes Father Mari, I promise to say five Hail Marys and ten Our Fathers to make up for it." Taka looked so solemn and sincere when she said this that Mari couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't think you're going to get out of this_ that_ easily. I'm still extremely angry with you," Mari was desperately trying to get herself under control and sound as stern as possible but Taka was looking at her with such round, innocent, and sincere eyes that she could hardly keep a straight face. "Seriously, you can't just go around beating up people; you're abusing your power and your knowledge of the fighting arts. You've been taught numerous times, by I don't know how many teachers, that you should only ever use physical force as a last resort. You seem to be just looking for trouble. I thought you were smarter Taka-chan, weren't you taught better than that?" Mari sighed and started placing the bandages on her sister's injuries. "Besides, we don't have that much extra money to be wasting on medical supplies each month either. Can't you figure out a different way to protect people? One that will actually have long-term effects instead of just preventing a kid from gaining a few bruises?... Take off your shirt so I can see the rest of the damage."

"You know I won't get involved unless I honestly think something dangerous might happen. Those three boys genuinely looked like they were ready to break some bones and leave some permanent damage, so I had to step in." Taka replied as she unbuttoned her uniform shirt and revealed a long dark bruise forming across her stomach from one of the poles, a longer diagonal cut across her back from one of the chains and a few fist shaped bruises in a sporadic display all over the rest of her. Some of the hits had drawn blood, while others would leave their mark for quite some time. A bloody bruise on her arm near her shoulder and other various bruises and scrapes that she couldn't quite remember getting, stood out sharply against her pale skin. Mari hissed in sympathy and tried her best to be gentle as she attended her sister's wounds.

"Only three guys did this much damage? You must be losing your touch," Mari attempted to joke as she carefully wrapped Taka's shoulder.

"Oh, no. I took care of those three relatively easily a couple of days ago right before I headed to work. This fight involved about fourteen if I remember right… or was it eleven? No, I think it was fourteen… I think… Anyway, those three guys wanted to get vengeance or whatever so they brought along friends this time, supposedly trying to redeem themselves I guess… They said they would take it out on Kuma if I didn't go, and I really couldn't stand to have him beaten up for what I did…" Taka trailed off as Mari cut off the gauss and taped it to the last wound. Mari just stared at her. Taka was a very skilled fighter; she had trained in Aikido, Karate, and Judo. She was strong, but her muscles weren't bulky like a body builder's, she was lithe, almost more like a dancer. There was no fat on her body, she was hard as a rock and if the boys she had fought had seen her without the long sleeves of her uniform, they would have been much more hesitant in fighting her. She almost never went outside without long, bulky sleeves because of that. She figured any advantage given to her because of the arrogance and oversight of others was alright by her.

"You got into a fight with fourteen armed guys?" Mari had recognized that Taka's wounds were obviously not the type to come from fighting bare handed. "I can't believe you! And you actually survived?" Mari no longer knew whether to be angry or impressed. Her voice held a mixture of both.

"I was trained by the best you know," Taka was grinning and had a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"I can't believe you. Who do you think you are? Don Quixote?" Mari quipped as she threw a pillow out of sheer frustration at her sister. Taka caught the pillow and grinned at Mari.

"Sure, why not? I have been reading a lot lately, and all that I read oppresses me greatly," Taka started to paraphrase the play's introduction. She lowered her voice to make it as manly as she could. As she talked about oppression, she melodramatically put a hand to her heart and she put a most pained expression upon her face. "It fills me with indignation at man's murderous ways towards man! I have pondered how to make a world full of greed, malice, deceit, and betrayal into a better place. I have been brooding and brooding and brooding, and finally, due to all this brooding, my brains have completely shriveled up!" At this she stood and pulled at her hair to mess it up, giving herself a look almost similar to a mad scientist. Her antics had Mari smiling and her grandiose gesturing had her fresh wounds smarting, but she didn't really care. "I have now lain down the melancholy burden of sanity and taken up the strangest of projects…to become a knight errant!" At these words she grandly threw open her arms as if to embrace the world. "I will sally forth on my brave steed Rozinante," she grabbed a broom and placed it between her legs "With my sword, or butter knife as the case may be, I shall go adventuring to right all wrongs, to protect the weak, and to mount a crusade against evil!"

Mari was now giggling uncontrollably as Taka started to sing,

"Hear me now, Oh, thou bleak and unbearable world

Thou art base and debauched as can be

And the knight with his banners all bravely unfurled

Now hurls down his gauntlet to thee"

As Taka drew out "thee" she hurled down her pillow at Mari as if it was the very gauntlet of the song. She held out her hand to Mari and pulled her up off of the floor. Mari got behind Taka on her "steed" and they start dancing and singing together.

"I am I, Don Quixote

The Lord of La Mancha

My destiny calls and I go

And the wild winds of fortune

Will carry me onward

Whithersoever they blow

Whithersoever they blow

Onward to glory I go"

They both fell on the floor laughing and giggling so hard they almost cried. "God Taka, why are you so crazy?"

"I'm Don Quixote, remember?" Taka smiled and rolled away from her sister so she could better communicate with her.

"Shouldn't you be Doña Quixote?" Mari could never stay too angry at Taka for long. She would be worried sick about her, especially if she was out late. She also got really frustrated when Taka would go off and do idiotic things, like fighting 14 boys on her own, but Mari and Taka were just as much best friends as they were sisters.

"Nah, I'm actually a cross-dresser, didn't I tell you that?"

"If you are, I'm going to have to kick you out. Sorry Taka-_kun,_ but you have to go."

"You mean you don't love me anymore?" Taka's eyes went round and she put another pained expression on her face.

"Baka! Shut up, will ya?" Mari laughed and got up to go get ice for the bruise on Taka's face. "I just hope we can fix your hair to hide that nasty bruise tomorrow. You better pray your boss doesn't see it."

"If he does, I'll just tell him my sob story about how I have an overly abusive sister at home." Taka got up and helped her sister to set the table for dinner. Mari stuck her tongue out at her sister as she handed her the plates and the silverware. It reminded Taka so much of when they were younger, she couldn't help but laugh.

Before their mother had died, these moments were a normal fact of life, but now, the times when Taka and Mari could cut loose and just have fun, were rare.

* * *

A/N: I will explain this last sentence in the next chapter, which I hope to update rather quickly, or as quickly as possible with an unpredictable schedule. I had planned to fully explain everything in this chapter, but it got too long to be smooshed into this one. So sorry about the wait, I had a lot of things go wrong with my computer lately …Ah well, please review and help me improve:) thanks. (I seem to be addicted to typing little smily faced guys now...hmmm...oh well, they make me happy :) heehee)


	8. Chapter 7 Death in the Family

Gokusen 7

Disclaimer: Don't own Gokusen plotline or characters

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Mari and Taka ran down the street to their dad's, Kurosawa Takeo's, karate dojo. School had just ended and they were both excited to show their father their report cards. Both girls had once again gotten the top scores in their class. Luckily their school was only two miles from the dojo. They lived in an apartment above it. Taka was eleven years old and in the 6th grade and Mari was nine years old in the 4th grade. After they walked through the doors and kicked off their shoes, they ran through the dojo, where a class was currently taking place, and up the stairs to meet their father. Their mother probably wouldn't be home from work yet. She often worked late tutoring her students and grading papers.

As they entered his office, where he worked on the budgets, helped direct advertising, work on scheduling, and the various structures of each class, they ran up to him and jumped on his lap, one on each knee. He was a big man, so this was a fairly easy fit. Their father was half-American, half-Japanese. His 6'0 height came from his red-headed, 6'4 American mother, and his dark hair and brown eyes came from his much shorter Japanese father. He had been a famous professional fighter in his early years, but after he and his wife had had their first child, he decided to retire early and manage a dojo to help teach young kids how to defend themselves. He had already been helping out at a locally owned dojo while he fought and trained, so he had some experience teaching. He loved his job and he thoroughly enjoyed working with young boys and girls, but the truth was, he knew absolutely nothing about running a business. Valarie, his wife, ended up taking over its management after she got home on school days, and the dojo became a steady and profitable business. Although he helped out, she almost always made the final decisions. Some older fighters would sometimes come to him to learn to fight more competitively, or to ask if they could become something similar to apprentices. He would usually accept their offers if he thought they were a good sort, and he would often have them help him out with various chores at the dojo.

"Daddy, daddy, look at this! I got the top scores again!" Mari almost shouted due to her excitement.

"No way! That's amazing Mari! You've definitely got your mother's brains," he tickled her and she squirmed and giggled trying to get away from him.

"How about you Taka? Did you keep up your grades as well?" he was slightly worried because she hadn't said anything yet. Usually, if she did well, she was just as eager as Mari to show him what she got. She had seemed excited a moment ago, he couldn't tell why she seemed to look so distant now.

"…huh? Oh, yeah I got top marks as well…" Taka stared off into the distance and seemed distracted.

"What's wrong Taka?" her father was genuinely concerned now, though not for her grades.

"Nothing, I think I forgot something at school…" Taka suddenly smiled up at him and left the room at a run. Her dad would have stopped her, but he knew she was smart enough not to get into trouble... and besides, she had run off so many times without telling him that he just accepted the fact that sooner or later she would either call or return home again,

"Did something happen at school today?" He asked Mari.

"Not that I know of, she seemed pretty normal until a couple of seconds ago. I'll go talk to her later; maybe she'll say something more…" Mari had just left when their dad got a call from their mother, Valarie, saying she was on her way home. Their mother had been born in America, but when she got her licensure to teach English as a Second Language, she had moved abroad to Japan. She met Kurosawa Takeo when she had gone to the dojo he was working with to learn self-defense. She was a strong, independent woman, but she had never been taught how to physically fend for herself. Her bright red hair had made her stand out from all of his other students, along with her height. She was only a scant inch shorter than he was and she wore her height well. She didn't hunch her shoulders and try to blend in with the shorter population, but held her head high and walked with her shoulders back. She was the picture of confidence and beauty. He had grown to love her over the few months he spent training her. She had picked up on the techniques quickly and stayed much longer than necessary to learn basic self-defense. She had had a particular affinity for him as well. They got married after two years of dating, and Taka and Mari had come along five and seven years later, respectively.

* * *

Taka left the house and ran back to the school. She had just remembered that she was supposed to meet up with a friend after school. Akira, her geeky best friend since kindergarten, had left a note in her locker asking her to meet her near the school. They originally met a week after school began. Taka had seen three girls her age ganging up on a girl wearing glasses. They had told the girl to meet them after school and Taka had overheard. Taka hated bullies and her mother had always taught her to stand up for what she believed in. Taka showed up after school, intervened and punched the leader in the nose. Yamamoto Akira introduced herself, and the two had been like sisters ever since.

Taka could be extremely absent-minded and she was known by her teachers for her forgetfulness. This was always a source of trouble for her, and Akira often scolded her because of it. She saw Akira just about ready to leave their chosen meeting spot and ran up to catch her. "Hey, I got here this time!" She panted almost out of breath.

"Finally, I thought you'd never show. Geez, did you forget again? I gave you the note right before last period so you'd remember."Akira may have sounded exasperated, but she was holding back a smile the whole time she was scolding her.

"Sorry! But I had just gotten my grades back from sensei, and I was so excited to show them to otou-san that I accidentally forgot." Taka looked up at Akira with such an earnest expression that Akira smiled and shook her head.

"Anyway, my dad just made a brand new game and he wants us to try it out. Come on!" Akira's father designed video games and spent most of his time on his computer. He worked at an office in town, but he would often work on his laptop while at home as well. One of the perks of having him as a father was that Akira would often get to test the new games out ahead of time and she almost always brought Taka with her. Akira practically dragged Taka to her house, burst through the front door, and ran to her dad's room, "Otou-san! I brought Taka-chan with me to try out that new game!"

Her father looked up from his laptop and smiled as they walked through the door. "Wonderful! I think you two will just love it," he got out the PC game and handed it to them. "Nice to see you again, Taka-chan. Still keeping those bullies away from my Akira?"

"As always, Yamamoto-san. Though, it's getting harder and harder these days," she got on her tiptoes and motioned for him to bend down to listen, "Akira-chan is getting a popular boy's attention and the jealous girls are becoming a much bigger nuisance," she whispered plenty loud enough for Akira to hear.

"That's not true! I told you he's just a friend!" as Akira started to protest, her face flushed and her father and Taka just laughed. Akira was pretty and her glasses made her look smart and sophisticated. She was shorter than Taka, as were most other Japanese girls her age, and she had a petite and elegant frame that boys were starting to take notice of. Akira was also extremely smart. She was almost as good as her father when it came to computers, even in the sixth grade, and she could have beaten Taka with her grades if she tried, but she was often apathetic towards school and homework. The only things she seemed to care about were her laptop, her parents, and Taka, maybe even in that order. Her dad was too relaxed and easy-going to ever really put his foot down and her mom was too gentle to be convincingly firm with her daughter. Akira never struggled in school and she easily remained in the top quartile of students, but she never actively tried to maintain it.

Taka was about to follow Akira out of the room when she remembered she hadn't told her father where she was. "Yamamoto-san, can I borrow your phone to call my dad?"

"Of course, Taka. You know where it is," he went back to his computer and focused on his work as she went down the hall to call her dad. The phone rang once and her dad picked it up.

"Hello? Is there any news? Is she alright?" he sounded panicked and rushed.

"Otou-san? It's me Taka... what's going on?" Taka had never heard her dad sound like this before.

"Taka!...Head towards the hospital, now. There's something I need to tell you… and it'll better if it's face-to-face," his voice had a tone of sadness and urgency that Taka couldn't ignore.

"I'll be there right away," as she finished her sentence, she hung up the phone, shouted an apology to Akira and ran all the way there, wondering all the way, just why she was meeting him at the hospital as opposed to at home and trying to prepare herself for the worst, but she never even came close to imagining the truth.

* * *

As soon as Taka opened the door to the hospital her dad ran to her and hugged her to him. Mari followed slowly after, tears coursing down her face. "Otou-san, what's going on?" she asked, though she wasn't honestly sure if she wanted to know the answer.

"Your mom, she…was in an accident… an ambulance took her here, but the doctors say… th-there isn't… much of a chance," tears started flowing when he said it and he gripped her almost painfully tight. Taka stood there in shock, no emotion registering on her face. She looked over at Mari and motioned her to come to them. She wrapped her arms around her sister and her father and just held them for awhile, but she didn't fully understand what it all meant. She knew people died and she knew what death was, but her mom was the strongest woman she knew. There was no way she would ever allow herself to be killed by something as random as a car accident.

Taka had full faith that her mother would recover and that the doctors didn't know who it was that they were talking about. Something like this could kill other, weaker, women but never could it defeat her mother. "Everything'll be okay otou-san, okaa-san won't let something like this beat her," Taka said it with such conviction that even her father looked up at her with hope. Then, the doctor entered the hallway.

"I'm sorry… Kurosawa-san…is gone," he looked at the trio with such pity in his eyes that Taka couldn't stand it.

"You're wrong! My mother would never allow a stupid car to kill her. She-"

"Taka…" Mari just looked at her with tear-filled eyes and shook her head as her shoulders started to heave and she broke down sobbing.

"Mari!" Taka ran over to her sister and held her. _Why is Mari crying? Okaa-san isn't dead, right? _As Taka started to look around, her dad motioned for her to come to the room where the operation to keep her mom alive had failed. Her mom had been walking home, when a drunk driver had lost control and run into her at 50 mph. Her internal organs had been crushed and she died due to internal hemorrhage. Her face wasn't mangled and she was still recognizable from the neck up. As Taka saw her mother's face, she realized that she was really gone._ Okaa-san, how could you allow something like this to happen? You were supposed to be strong enough to always be there for me. You said you would never leave me…why?_ As Taka felt tears coming to her eyes she fought them back. Ever since she was young, her mother had always told her that crying never did anybody any good.

* * *

"Crying is merely an excuse to be inactive and look pitiful. Instead of crying, think about what you should do to fix the problem. You will become a much more productive person," Valerie said as she poured hydrogen peroxide on a young Taka's scraped knee. "If you had thought about how to make the pain lessen, instead of sitting there and crying about it, you could have come inside, disinfected it, and bandaged it yourself. You've fallen enough times to know how to do it," she smiled and tickled Taka as she said it. "Besides crying about something and waiting around for someone else to help you is not the type of thing a daughter I have raised would do, is it?"

Taka laughed and looked up into her mother's beautiful green eyes, "No, I'll be smarter next time, I promise!"

"I hope you'll be smart enough to avoid this situation altogether. Riding you're bike with no hands while a friend is standing on it behind you, is not the smartest thing in the world." Her eyes were stern and serious when she looked at Taka this time, and Taka gulped while trying to look away. "Not only did you endanger yourself, but you could have hurt your friend as well."

"Sorry okaa-san, I won't do it again. I promise… and I won't ever cry again, either," Taka said as she looked up at her mom, "I'm gonna be as strong as you are one day, you can count on it!"

Valorie laughed and hugged Taka to her, "I bet you will be. You may even be stronger than I am!"

* * *

_That's right... I have to be strong now too..._ As she held her sister and watched her dad crumple to the ground, she decided that she would have to take care of both of them now. She would help manage the dojo, just like her mom did. She had often helped her out after school anyways, she knew the basics. She could also look for a part-time job to do on the weekends, maybe baby-sitting.

Taka avoided dealing with the pain of her mother's death by throwing herself completely into everything she did. After the funeral, which she had helped plan, she worked at her studies harder than ever before. She also threw herself into her physical training with a new ferocity unmatched by the others in the dojo. She became even more well-versed in Aikido, Karate, and MMA. She got her athleticism from her father and she picked up the moves even quicker than before, because she practiced in almost all of her spare time. When she wasn't studying, sleeping, or working, she was training. The exercise was cathartic for her and she let out some of her aggression through her training.

Mari grieved openly for the first few weeks, and Taka was always there for her when it got to be too much. Mari missed a few days of school, but eventually she pulled herself together and returned. She had a few close friends at school that also helped her to pull through it, but she often found more comfort in books than in people. She loved to lose herself in stories that took her far from this world and inundated herself in other people's problems when her own became too much to bear. Mari was a resilient young girl though, and after a while, she began to move on. She retained her love for books, but they became a pleasure as opposed to an escape and though her friends remained few, they became even closer.

Taka's father seemed to break down almost entirely after his wife died. She had always been the strength that held their family together and he couldn't seem to overcome the loss or even begin to deal with it. Taka found a teacher who could replace him at least part-time, so she wouldn't have to cancel the classes he had decided he couldn't teach anymore. She also hired a part-time manager so she could spend more time focusing on her studies, although she made him well-aware that she had the final say about what happened in the dojo, even if she was a kid. He had thought it was a joke at first, but after watching how she dealt with the business, he quickly became impressed. She made sure that he was the one credited for all of the work and he made an excellent figurehead for her. After all, she was well-aware of the fact that she would never be taken seriously by others if they found out.

Akira saw less and less of her friend as time went on and she began to worry about Taka. Taka had made friends easily enough when her mom was alive, but after her mother died, she became more and more withdrawn until Akira was virtually the only one she associated with. She wasn't rude to the other students, but they just drifted apart. Akira had never been a social person to begin with and would have most likely remained a loner had Taka not helped her in that first week, so she became worried and somewhat lonely when Taka started to withdraw. But, she utilized her new free-time by focusing more and more on her computer skills.

That summer, before they transferred to Junior High School, Akira visited Taka's house almost every day. She made sure that Taka didn't overwork herself and she often helped out around the dojo or played around on her computer while Taka worked out. They became closer than ever before and Taka finally started to open up to Akira again. Mari and her friends would also come over occasionally and they would all hang out together and have a good time. Taka and Mari would never be the same, but they were gradually learning how to live on. Things seemed to be getting better little by little. Though their father still worried them with how reticent and morose he had become, they figured he would heal with time.

But, when he started to drink, everything else went downhill from there.

* * *

Sorry for the long wait, but I hope the length makes up for it a little bit:) Please review:)


	9. Chapter 8 Degeneration

Gokusen 8

loser94: thank you very much:) I always feel so encouraged to write after reading reviews.

Disclaimer: Don't own Gokusen characters or Gokusen plot. But I think I own everything and everyone in this chapter.

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Takeo holed up in his dojo for the first few months after his wife died. He didn't leave his room often and when he did, it was mainly to eat, teach, or use the bathroom. Taka and Mari gave him his distance and allowed him to grieve in as much peace as possible. Taka took over business and Mari took over doing most of the household chores. Both girls were extremely busy, but in the summer they got a chance for a little peace. While the girls slowly recovered, their father seemed to get worse and worse. He started disappearing for days at a time, not telling them where he went or even warning them that he was leaving. The first time it happened the girls were so worried they searched all over Nagasaki for him, calling everyone they knew to help them look for him. One of his friends, who he hadn't seen in a few years, had come by to see him and they had left together a few hours later. It was a mere week after Taka had turned twelve and had just started Junior High School. The girls thought something had happened to him. It was the first time he had actually left the dojo since his wife's funeral and they were really concerned about him. After three days of frantic searching, he finally came home. When he did, the girls ran up to him to hug him and demand to know where he had been. He pushed them away, but not before they smelled the strong reek of alcohol that drenched his clothes.

"Otou-san, what's wrong? Where have you been?" Taka had never seen her father get drunk before. She had never even seen him consume alcohol.

"L-leamme all-one…" he brushed her hand away and kept heading towards his room.

"Otou-san!" Taka's voice lowered and became almost threatening, "Where were you? We looked all over for you. We've all been hit hard by mom's passing but Mari and I have moved on. You need to too. You can't just hole yourself up in your room all day and expect us to take care of everything for you."

"Shuddup…Iz none uv yer bizznuss…" He tried to shake her off again, this time using a little more force.

"It is too my business! This is your dojo and if you don't pull it together soon, its business will be gone. You're playing around with Mari's life and mine if you allow that." She reached up to grab his shoulders and forced him to face her. "If this dojo fails, so do our finances. We'll be kicked out on the street with nowhere to go, you too." Although this wasn't necessarily true since her father had retained a lot of money from his days as a professional, Taka had completely forgotten about that. Her father's face, already flushed from the alcohol turned an even darker red with rage.

"I SAID SHUT UP, DAMNIT!" He swung and punched the side of her face. He had never hit either of them before. When they were disciplined, physical violence had never been used. Taka staggered back, shock and pain in her eyes. The tears that had refused to fall at her mother's funeral made a threatening appearance. She choked them down and stood up as she heard his slurred demand that they leave him alone once again. It was soon followed by a slamming door and a heavy silence. The next time he left, not one call was made.

* * *

"Don't look her in the eyes. I heard she's the leader of a gang downtown…"

"No way! I heard she works for the yakuza and shakes people down for money…"

Taka shook her head and kept walking. The first time she had come to school with a black eye after her father hit her, she got looks of sympathy. She had tried her best to disguise it with make-up and her hair, but after having to pull her hair up for P.E. class, it was no secret that something had happened. When black eyes and other bruises became a normal thing, rumors started to spread. Her bright red hair, height, fearless attitude, and muscle build never helped her combat the rumors of her delinquency either. But her mom had taught her to walk with her head held high no matter what happened, and that's exactly what she did. She ignored all of the gossip and when bad things just "happened" she took it in stride. She still protected people who got bullied by others, but now when she offered the victims her hand, they ran away terrified that she might do something worse. Her reactions towards others were already slightly jaded and cynical, but with how they were acting now her uglier side emerged and people truly began to fear her. She still protected the weak and innocent, but her treament of them became rough and cruel as opposed to kind and sympathetic.

Teachers became wary of her and avoided her as well. She'd often get put into detentions she didn't deserve merely because the other students had started something and blamed her for it. Teachers always believed them. It wasn't too long before she was being challenged by some of her braver classmates who wanted to show-off. Taka tried her best to ignore them, but when they started bothering Akira to get to her, she quickly put an end to it. Akira and Taka grew ever closer during these years. Akira, who was never a social butterfly, was soon avoided as well due to her association with Taka. Akira didn't really mind it, she actually had fun threatening some of the people who annoyed her, but she was really worried about Taka.

Akira knew that her friend wasn't getting those bruises because she enjoyed fighting and beating up on other people. Taka never told her about her dad's degeneration, but Akira soon figured it out through asking Mari. Mari wasn't a blabber-mouth, nor did she tell anyone else about what was going on, but Mari was just as worried about Taka as Akira was. Mari couldn't really do much because every time their father came home in a drunken rage, Taka always chased her upstairs and told her to lock her door. Mari thought that since Akira was older, maybe she could help in a way that Mari herself could not.

* * *

"Taka!" Akira ran after her friend as the last bell rang. "Why didn't you tell me?" Akira was furious with Taka. The fact that Taka hadn't trusted her with something like this, after all of the things that they had gone through together, it just pissed her off. "Taka! Answer me!" She finally caught up with her and grabbed her arm. Akira didn't miss the fact that Taka winced slightly as she did. "Why didn't you tell me about why you got those bruises?"

"It's none of your business, Akira." Taka pulled her arm away and kept walking. Akira just followed.

"The hell it isn't! You're my friend Taka, and besides I have to put up with all the same shit you do since I'm associated with you at school, and all that shit happened because of these," Akira pulled back Taka's sleeve to reveal a black and blue arm. Akira hissed in sympathy and looked up as Taka pulled her arm away again. "Mari told me what's happening you can't just ignore me again."

"This is nothing, otou-san and I just got a little too into practicing, that's all." Taka looked away when Akira tried to catch her eyes.

"Taka… what if he doesn't stop after you next time? What if he starts 'practicing' with Mari? Will you still brush it off as 'nothing'?" Akira placed herself directly in front of Taka and forced her to look her in the eyes. "You honestly think a locked door is gonna be able to stop a professional fighter?"

"…no…but don't think I've been completely irresponsible. I've thought about this as well, and I'm saving up my money. I pilfer some of the profits from the dojo, and I take on every odd job I can find." Taka had now stopped walking and looked straight at Akira, "I won't allow him anywhere near her until I've got enough to be able to leave. It's strange though; when he's sober he begs us for forgiveness and promises he'll never do it again each and every time. I used to believe him, but now…" Taka shook her head and looked away.

"What about you Taka? I know you like to act tough, but you've even missed school recently and I know it's not because you're playing hooky. You could get seriously injured," Akira had noticed that every time she missed school, her injuries were worse than normal. One time, her arm had been in a cast, the next her ribs were taped due to fracture.

"You may have forgotten, but I'm also one of his best pupils. I'm not the only one gaining bruises at night, and as time passes, I'm gradually improving." Taka smiled and shrugged off Akira's concern.

Akira almost smiled when she heard that. It was so like Taka to turn this into some sort of competition. "Well, at least you're smart enough to fend for yourself. How's business at the dojo going anyway?"

"It's alright. Only my sister and I know about otou-san's…condition. We've covered it up pretty well, and when he is there during the day he still carries on with his classes, just not quite with the same enthusiasm as before. Any 'apprentices' he took in left after the incident with my mom and we don't have to worry too much about anybody seeing him drunk when he comes home so late that practically everyone else is sleeping." Taka and Akira had almost reached the dojo now.

"But if you're fighting back, doesn't it show when he's teaching?"

"I know where to hit so it doesn't." Taka smiled and Akira winced in mock sympathy.

"Well, it's not like he's going to make anymore children…" Akira winked at Taka and threw her backpack down on the ground outside the dojo. "Oh yeah, did I tell you? I've recently met up with this really great guy and we've been meeting up online after school recently."

"Ah, so that's why I haven't seen you around lately… but I never pinned you for being into internet dating…" Taka shot her a questioning glance.

"He's 28 years old, extremely overweight, and he wears glasses with rims thicker than your pinky finger… oh yeah, and he also has a wife. He's really not my type," Akira looked slightly exasperated at the fact that Taka even thought that she would do such a stupid thing.

"Then why…?"

"He's actually a colleague of my dad's, otherwise I never would have met up with him. He's a super genius Taka! He can hack into anything. He's the best computer maniac they have and he's teaching me his trade!" Akira looked so starry eyed she might as well have been in love.

"But why do you want to learn about hacking into other people's information? Why did he even share this with you in the first place? And why on earth are your dad and his company ignoring the fact that what he does is illegal?" Taka was very confused.

"I already know a little bit just from messing around on my computer, and besides I want to learn from a 'professional.' You know how obsessed I am with learning this stuff, it keeps me from getting bored and the adrenaline rush I get from rebellion is exhilarating! And he decided to share his information with me because I promised him that I could teach him how to dance and-"

"Wait a minute…you can dance? Since when?"

"Since my mom paid for ballroom dancing lessons for me every year since kindergarten."

"How on earth did I not know about this?" Taka's mouth visibly dropped open and she stared in wonder at her friend.

"It's not like I took any pleasure from it, besides it wasn't a topic interesting enough to talk about…_Anyways_ My dad and the company know he's a genius but they don't know about his darker side. I once saw him hacking into his wife's bank account, they hadn't combined them after their marriage, to see whether or not she was staying at love hotels and I threatened him to teach me. He threatened to tell my dad that I was into hacking and then we came up with our mutually beneficial solution. I offered to teach him how to dance so he could better romance his wife, and he's teaching me some BAMF computer skills." Akira looked so proud of herself that Taka almost laughed.

"…Wow, that's rather convoluted. So, why tell me this now? Why not earlier?"

Akira raised her head and looked at Taka mockingly, "It was none of your business."

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to get involved or hurt," Taka got down on her knees and bowed in an almost derisive manner, "Will you forgive me?"

"Get up you idiot! Of course I forgive you. But you have to promise you'll never keep another secret from me."

Taka looked up and grinned broadly, "Deal!"

"Alright, now, as for why I told you about this… well, I've been wanting to tell you about it for quite some time, I just never really had the chance to talk to you. And too, if you ever need any help finding information, or fudging data, or even false documents, I can get it all for you." Akira was whispering now, even though no one else was really around. "Through this guy, I have lots of connections, so if you ever need help, let me know."

"…Thanks, but I think you're getting a little bit carried away here. Besides, why would I need any of that? I'm glad you're finally getting excited about something, but don't you think all this is a little much? Isn't it dangerous to become too involved in all this?" Something about listening to her friend talk about this so nonchalantly bothered Taka. She knew that Akira had always had different tastes, but getting into all of this just to get rid of boredom didn't seem all that great to her.

"Isn't it dangerous for you to go around beating up all of the idiots who challenge you? Admit it. You like the rush as much as I do, maybe even more. That's why we always got along so well." Akira smirked and pulled out her laptop.

"…True… but still, I never did anything _illegal. _Besides, what I'm doing isn't technically dangerous for me because I have the skills to handle those situations." Taka was more worried for Akira's safety than anything else.

"Hmph. Goody two-shoes. Just because we go about getting our thrills in slightly different ways doesn't mean what we want isn't the same. Besides, you think I don't have the skills to handle the situations I put myself into? You use brawn to remain safe, I use my brain. What I'm doing really isn't dangerous either if you look at it that way. I'm a lot smarter than most people and I've never really applied myself to anything before this, but now, I'm gonna give it my all and eventually become the best computer hacker there is! This is the most fun thing I've ever done, partially because it's dangerous." Taka had never really seen Akira excited about learning anything and she was happy her friend had found something that she genuinely enjoyed, even if it was a little...dangerous.

"I guess I get what you mean... Alright, well then, if I ever need your skills, I'll make sure to hook up with you, although I honestly can't imagine what I would use them for," Taka smiled at Akira and Akira returned it.

"Never mind that, I'm sure I'll think of something… By the way, what are you going to do with that money you're saving up? You never said what you planned to do with it."

"Well… I was thinking of moving… to Tokyo," she looked down at her toes and an almost sheepish expression crossed her face.

"Tokyo? Why Tokyo? Isn't it really expensive and crowded and…too far away?" Akira looked down and mumbled the last part, but Taka heard it all the same.

"Well, it's far enough away from otou-san to give us true independence-"

"Fukuoko, Saga or even Miyazaki is easily far enough to give you independence, and I could still visit you if you lived there. Why Tokyo?" Taka was Akira's one close friend and Akira didn't want to lose her.

"My mom used to work at a school in Tokyo, and I think I can find someone there who'll help us transfer. I've always wanted to go to Tokyo too. My mom used to tell me about it and well… I figure it's as good a place as any to find a fresh start. Besides when I looked, I found a cheap apartment for only 35,000 yen. I know it's still a bit expensive, but if I can protect Mari until I'm old enough to work full-time at a regular job, I can probably pull it off. I can also be paid for tutoring other students in English, since my mom was American, I'm relatively fluent. I may have to give up high school, but so long as Mari can get an education and be safe, it should be alright," Taka glanced up at Akira to gauge her reaction.

"No... I'm going to make sure you get an education too. My skills with the computer will get me a good job that will pay well, even without formal schooling. I'll help you pay the bills so long as you promise me you won't skip out on high school," her voice was firm leaving almost no room for argument.

"I don't want you to have to worry about me like that, and before you protest hear me out. I really _would_ like to go to high school, so… maybe we can compromise. Why don't you teach me everything you've learned and everything you _will_ learn, so I can provide for myself better?... Please allow me to be as independent as possible in this." Akira understood that Taka didn't like accepting help from anyone. Even at twelve, she had a pride in herself and her abilities, so much so that Akira had known that she would resist the offer.

"…I know you're smart Taka, but if you honestly think you can ever even begin to match my computer skills, you're crazy…but I'll try the best I can to teach you enough to be able to provide for yourself and your sister. Computer expertise is in high demand these days so it should be fairly easy to get a job with really good pay. First things first though, we've got to get you a quality piece of machinery!" she smiled and laughed as Taka's expression fell. "Don't worry about the price. I've already started helping my dad and I have plenty. Consider this my gift to you, as thanks for saving my ass all those years ago." Akira smiled and whooped for joy. "Alright! Let's do this!"

Taka was about to refuse but when she thought about Mari and their future lives, she conceded without protest. She loved Akira and longed to tell her that by just being her friend she had long ago paid that non-existent debt, but after seeing how happy Akira was, she just decided to let it go. She was very grateful that Akira was there for her.

* * *

Akira and Taka began working together every day, especially on the weekends. Taka still kept up with her training and school work, but she left most of the dojo business to the new manager she had hired. He was a smart man and now knew what was expected and how things were run. She only ever checked in with him once in a while. She grew stronger and smarter, and she was eventually subduing her father before he could leave too many marks. Although, even after the bruises had somewhat dissipated, the rumors and her reputation were already fixed into people's minds and there wasn't much she could do about it.

After two years had passed in this way, thoughts of being forced to move were pushed to the back of Taka's mind. Even so, she studied about living alone in Tokyo almost as much as she studied for school. The routine that had developed became almost normal. She was now fourteen and her father had seemed to have calmed down a little bit. She had grown strong fast, mostly out of necessity, but even most of the high school boys who knew her name feared her. She had already grown most of her 5'11 frame. She got bullied and ostracized because of her height, attitude, and hair color as always, but she never once hunched her shoulders, unless it was so she could fit in a door, and she never once dyed her hair brown or black. She still had to deal with her father's violence, but she thought she had a relatively good handle on it now. She forced herself to look at it as training and as a learning experience. Her father still beat her, after all, he had been a professional fighter for most of his life and she was merely fourteen years old. However, she was a quick learner and he was often so besotted with alcohol that his reflexes weren't as good as normal. She could now dodge the attacks aimed at the parts of her body that would be visible at her school, and if she ever needed to go to the hospital, the doctors merely took in her appearance and came to the same conclusion her fellow students did. Delinquents only get what they deserve.

* * *

The week after summer break had started after her last year of Junior High, Taka's father was out late as usual and Taka was up doing her homework with Mari. It was a particularly hot summer night and they were both glad for the a/c. When their father came home he was even more irritated than normal. They could hear his cursing and drunken shouts all the way down the street.

"Mari, you know where to go, get out of here," Taka got up and put away her homework. As she got up to go downstairs Mari reached out a hand to stop her.

"No, you come hide with me. Don't face him this time," Mari was older now and though she had never liked what was happening, this was the first time she'd done this.

"I can't do that. If I do, he'll come to our room looking for a fight and I can't protect you if he does that," Taka shoved Mari towards her room, but Mari still resisted.

"Please don't go Taka, please!" Mari clung to her arm as Taka dragged her towards the room they shared. Taka opened the door and placed Mari down inside.

"I don't have time for this Mari! Just stay here and I promise I'll come back and read a story or something later alright? I'll make it up to you, I promise," Taka ran out and shut the door behind her as Mari heard her father enter the dojo downstairs. Mari couldn't stand it that her sister always did this, but she was also terrified of her father. Mari didn't know what to do. She'd never taken an interest in fighting like her sister had and she knew she would only get in the way, but she couldn't stand not doing anything. Mari crept out of her room and slowly slunk down the stairs.

"STUPID BITCH! GET BACK HERE!" As Mari peeked around the corner, she saw Taka scrambling away from her father holding her stomach. Apparently he'd gotten in a lucky kick. Taka's breathing was irregular as if she had just gotten her breath knocked out of her. As her father caught up to her and was about to kick her again, Mari ran out and jumped on his back wrapping her arms around his head and putting pressure on his eyes. She had been taught basic self-defense moves and she knew that this was painful and effective. Unfortunately her father was also well-versed in self-defense, much more so than she was. He was the one who had taught her. He reached back, grabbed her small body, and threw it against the wall.

"MARI!" Taka jumped up and viciously started to attack her father with everything she had.

"Haha! Now the bitch gets serious huh?" Taka's anger at seeing what he did to Mari gave her a strength she didn't know she had. She used his hampered reflexes and his over-confidence against him. Eventually she got in close enough to give his jaw a hard blow and twist his head sharply to the right. It knocked him unconscious and she ran over to Mari.

"Mari! You idiot! What the hell were you thinking?" Taka quickly and gently checked her sister for injuries, but finding nothing seriously wrong breathed a sigh of relief.

"I can't do this anymore Taka! I hate waiting for you to come back hurt and having to clean your wounds! I hate knowing that's there's nothing I can do! I HATE IT!" Mari broke down and sobbed on Taka's shoulder.

"ShhhShhh, calm down Mari... I'm sorry; I didn't realize how much it bothered you... Mari come up to my room, there is something I wish to discuss with you, away from him."

* * *

A/N: I didn't realize that the backstory would take this long to write. I honestly thought it might take one chapter, two tops, but it seems that I need one more to finish. Sorry it's taking so long to get back to the original plot. Promise it'll come back at either the end of the next chapter or the beginning of the chapter after next:) Thanks for your patience:) Please review.


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